Market Value of Combined Online Gambling Companies Would Surpass $4 Billion.

Austrian online gambling leader, bwin owns of Bwin Poker, and leading European online casino and poker site PartyGaming owners of PartyPoker, are indeed in talks regarding a possible merger, several news sources have recently confirmed.

The talks are, so far, just talks, and no guarantee of a combination that would create a gigantic online gambling company worth than $4 billion. Bwin executives have admitted to but downplayed the story. For its part, PartyGaming admitted the rumors were true, but also stated that it’s in such talks with “a number of companies”.

Though the companies downplay the rumors, they’ve persisted for some time now, and many in the industry are taking them seriously. The merger would completely transform the online gambling industry, especially in Europe.

"Europes online gambling market is the world’s largest, at $8.7 billion in 2009," write Zoe Schneeweiss and Jonathan Browning at Bloomberg.com. "No European gambling operator currently has a dominant position. Among publicly listed operators, Bwin has the largest European market share by revenue with 8 percent, followed by PartyGaming with 6.3 percent and William Hill Plc, the UKs second largest bookmaker, with 4.5 percent, according to Barclays Capital."

Both companies saw a significant share rise after the news was confirmed late last week. In related news, PartyGaming’s founder has agreed to sell off the last of his ownership stakes in the company, amounting to about £114 million in value.

Popular online gaming company Betfair boast a very large number of games available on their casino section. This section is one of the most popular on the Betfair site, largely because there are so many games available for players within it.

The games are varied, and offer players many different casino gaming experiences. These games can be played in two ways, depending on the wishes of the particular player. Firstly, Betfair offers a downloadable software which enables casino games to be saved directly to the player’s computer and played at any time. Secondly, Betfair offer instant games, for players to use whenever they login to the site. Players decide which of these options they take, but Betfair highly recommends downloading the casino software. Players who download the software will have access to a number of extra features, including over 150 extra games compared to those who play the games directly from the website.

In terms of what games are available, Betfair have all of the usual suspects on their casino section, as well as a number of popular others that are less known to the mainstream. Players have regular access to card games, table games, slot machines and video poker aspects. There are also a large number of casino games that are exclusive to Betfair. The A-Z of games in the top left hand corner of the screen proves how very many games are offered.

Although downloading the casino software is strongly encouraged, there are a large number of promotions available across the casino section of the site. These promotions are available to anyone, whether they have downloaded the casino software onto their computer or are playing the games directly from the website at betfaircasino.

Sky Poker is different from a lot of the online poker sites in the UK - and in a good way. While a lot of sites bombard you with an overwhelming amount of promotions, bonuses, side games and chat rooms, Sky Poker keeps it simple by just offering good solid Texas Hold Em games that get the job done. But don't be turned off by the simplicity, as there are still plenty of incentives to keep the bonus-hunting players happy as well.

One of the main incentives of playing at Sky Poker is the Live TV aspect. Sky Poker is run by BSKyB, one of the largest television providers in the UK. If you play in tournaments at Sky Poker, you will most likely be able to see yourself on a daily basis, playing live on Sky Channel 846. What other online poker site lets you watch your gameplay on live TV?

Another perk to playing at Sky Poker is the guidance you will receive. Sky Poker has a stable full of experienced poker professionals that regularly write tips for the site, comment on live gameplay, and answer questions in the community forum. And they don't hide behind aliases - you will know exactly who you are talking to and why they are an expert at poker. Sometimes these poker celebrities even join tournaments, and if you eliminate them from the game you will receive an extra cash prize!

The most well-known incentive at Sky Poker is the generous £500 welcome bonus. Here's how it works: during your first 30 days after your first deposit, you will be earning points. If you earn 7,500 points or more, you will get the £500 bonus absolutely free! And even if you don't, you will still get a bonus depending on how many points you earn - even if you only earn 150 points you will still get £10. How do you earn points? For every £1 wagered, you earn 10 points, and there are other opportunities to win bonus points as well.

So if you're looking for a simple, solid and straightforward online poker site that offers some serious perks, Sky Poker is the place to start playing today!

Are you one of the plenty of cynics who will always say the odds are stacked to high against lottery players? But have you ever used a syndicate? Playing with a syndicate increases your chances of winning by a huge 3,600%. Further, the more people who play, the bigger the pot of gold! Try your luck at the EuroMillions lotto or El Gordo by joining a syndicate today. So how would you spend your lotto winnings? Almost everybody knows how to answer that question. For some, its dream homes in exotic locations surrounded by mountains or uninterrupted sea views. While for others it's about finally knowing the thrill of driving a handcrafted supercar. There are some who see it as the opportunity to see the world in all its wonder or the chance to practice the kind of charity that would make the world an even better place.

Whatever the dream, it's the reason why millions of people in hundreds of countries buy tickets every week to play the giants of the lotto world: the UK National Lottery, The EuroMillions Lottery and the Spanish super draw El Gordo de la Primitiva. But these days all the really smart lotto money is in syndicates and e-Lottery is pound for pound the best horse to back. With over 190 000 members in 136 countries, e-Lottery increases your chances of a worthwhile win by a truly impressive 3,600%. Because one in every four 4 lotto winners belongs to a syndicate, you're almost guaranteed that your weekly payment will result in riches and a move to Easy Street.

When you choose between backing the National Lottery, try your hand at the pan-European EuroMillions draw. Or decide to play El Gordo lottery with a trusted online lottery syndicate, you could see a big return on a small investment. That's because those winning National Lottery numbers regularly reward players with prizes of several million pounds. If you buy EuroMillions tickets, you're in line for a EuroMillions draw that often results a prize potential in the region of 100 million Euros. In fact, draws for EuroMillions 2009 have already netted a 25 year old woman 125 million Euros. And El Gordo 2009 has reached a mammoth 84 million Euros. E-Lottery makes your chances even greater with the further options of playing the Lotto and the National Lottery online. And the more people who play, the bigger the lottery results could be.  

The more people who join professional lottery syndicates offering peace of mind through guarantees and mathematical systems, the more individuals, families and communities will have their lives changed forever. So, whether you're being British and sticking to the National, going Continental and exercising a flair for the Euromillions Lotto, or exercising your Spanish sensibilities with the El Gordo sweepstakes, partner up with e-Lottery members. E-Lottery is the simplest and most secure way to play smart so that you can do more than just dream big – you can live it. So whether or not you’re playing, it's more fun to join the syndicate game

For as long as casinos and online casinos have been around, people have been looking for ways that could help them beat the machines. This desire for winning is understandable, casinos and online casinos are regularly giving out large amounts of cash, and if a person can find out a way to win big money they are obviously going to be tempted to use it. Thinking of ways to earn big money will always be a popular pastime, and luckily in the world of online casino gaming there are various things that can be done that may increase a player’s chance of winning.

Although there are no clear strategies that can guarantee people a win on the roulette wheel or in the game of blackjack, there are a number of things that are recommended by veteran casino players who believe that their systems can make a difference. Although these methods aren’t scientifically proven, they are used across the globe to try and beat the casino. There are two ways to try and improve chances: negative progression systems, and positive progression systems.

Negative progression systems mean making bigger bets after first being unsuccessful, in order to try and win back the money that has been lost. Although this system may sound risky, it has had a large number of success stories in the past. It is also likely to give out huge cash prizes if it pays off.

A safer way to play, and one that is recommended by Online Casino King for those that are new to casino game playing, is the positive progression system. This involves capitalising on winning streaks, which essentially means that players who use this system only carry on betting after a win. This means that if a player is having bad luck on one occasion, they are encouraged to stop playing rather than carry on losing. However if they are doing well they will continue to do so, until their game ends. When they have lost, the player should stop playing in that session, and if they are using the positive progression system correctly they will do this.

In what will be a battle for international bragging rights PokerStars has announced its 2009 Americas Cup of Poker. This inaugural Americas Cup of Poker (ACP) will bring together teams from 16 different nations to battle toward the live final, to be held at the Cerro Catedral Ski Resort in Argentina’s Patagonia region.

Up for grabs is $250,000 in prize money, with $100,000 to be split among the winning team’s players. Daily freerolls and online qualifiers priced as low as $0.20 assure that every PokerStars player has the chance to take part. These qualifiers have just begun at PokerStars.

The 16 teams who will participate in the ACP are split into four groups, consisting of 13 American continents nations and three “wild card” entries, comprised of players from the rest of the world. The four groups are as follows:

• Group A: USA, Mexico, Ecuador, Wildcard 1
• Group B: Canada, Columbia, Uruguay, Wildcard 2
• Group C: Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Costa Rica
• Group D: Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Wildcard 3

Over the next three weeks, each group’s teams will compete in a series of head-to-head, round-robin matchups. The top eight teams overall – the two teams with the best records from each group – will move on to the live final in Argentina. Each team in Argentina will be comprised of the top five players from each nation, based on points earned during the qualifiers, and each team in the final will also be joined by a live member of Team PokerStars Pros. Qualifying points are earned by placing in the top 100 during any of the ongoing first round’s qualifying events.

Stay up to date with the Latest PokerStars News and Reviews

Stay up to date with all the latest PokerStars News at LTDPoker.com, Top Poker Room Reviews including the latest from Betfair Poker, Bwin Poker, PokerStars and our exclusive Online Poker Bonuses.

We have experienced the frills of the World Series of Poker 2009, with 56 events and a punishing 13 days of play in the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the final table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was been decided.

At the start of Day 8 we had a total of 27 players back to the Amazon Room at Noon on Wednesday with dreams of being at the final table of the most prestigious poker tournament in the world. Everyone remaining would receive a minimum of $352,832, but the true aim was on making the November Nine final table. Leading the pack was poker newbie Darvin Moon, a logger from Maryland, who held slightly over 20,160,000 chips as play began.

Leo Margets is the last female standing, who came to the start of play as one of the shorter stacks in the room, she was the first to depart in 27th place. She was shortly followed by notable players including Antonio Esfandiari (24th place for his largest WSOP cash ever) and Day Six leader Warren Zackey, who dropped from the tournament in 22nd place after his pocket deuces were out-floped by Ian Tavelli’s [Qs] [Js]

Tavelli’s aggressive play eventually caught up with him, the 21-year old was eliminated in 17th place ($500,557). Almost immediately after Tavelli’s departure, one of France’s top professional players, Ludovic Lacay, was defeated by Jeff Shulman in 16th place.

As the field continued to dwindle, both Darvin Moon and Steve Begleiter used their large stacks to climb to astronomical levels at the tables. Moon never seemed to be in any trouble during play on Wednesday and Begleiter, continued his march up the leaderboard. For all of their work, however, most of the eyes in the Amazon Room where following Top poker professional Phil Ivey.

Ivey has had one of his best World Series of Poker's ever with his skills at their highest level for some years. He has captured two bracelets during the six weeks of the WSOP tournament and had been at or around the top of the Main Event leaderboard since Day 1 started. Starting the day with over 11 million in chips, Ivey seemed happy to sit back and manage his stack, being aware of the 2 hour blind levels and plenty of chips in front of him. I am sure he is scouting potential opponents should they reach the November Nine final table.

After over 11 hours of battle, the final table of the Main Event was determined. The unlucky Bubble Boy was pro player Jordan Smith, who fell in tenth place ($896,730) at the hands of our November Nine Chip Leader Darvin Moon, his Pocket Ace's losing to pocket 8's with a [8c] [4d] [2d] flop.

World Series of Poker 2009 - November Nine

These are the nine players who will gather at the Rio in November to determine the next WSOP Main Event Champion:

• Darvin Moon (Oakland, Maryland) – 58,930,000
• Eric Buchman (Valley Stream, New York) – 34,800,000
• Steve Begleiter (Chappaqua, New York) – 29,885,000
• Jeff Shulman (Las Vegas, Nevada) – 19,580,000
• Joe Cada (Shelby Township, Michigan) – 13,215,000
• Kevin Schaffel (Coral Springs, Florida) – 12,390,000
• Phil Ivey (Las Vegas, Nevada) – 9,765,000
• Antione Saout (Paris, France) – 9,500,000
• James Ankenhead (London, England) – 6,800,000

With our some of the top poker professional players including Ivey, Shulman (Editor of CardPlayer Magazine), and Ankenhead in the mix, some are reporting that this will be one of the strongest Main Event final tables of the past few years.

Play will pause on the Las Vegas leg of this year’s WSOP, however focus is now turn to Europe in London, with four events to go. The 2009 WSOP Europe, beginning in September, will offer a chance for the survivors of the Main Event to tune up their games. The November Nine then will emerge from their respite. All are now dollar millionaires, but the eventual winner will take the $8.5 million first place prize.

Stay up to date with the Latest Poker News and Reviews

Stay up to date with all the latest World Series of Poker (WSOP) News at LTDPoker.com, Top Poker Room Reviews including Betfair Poker, Bwin Poker, PokerStars and our exclusive Online Poker Bonuses.

The Magic Moments of Poker continue with their tour of this year’s greatest events. The most recent stop was on PokerIsland, where special guest Luca Toni and a program packed full of excitement were waiting at the poker villa. Young Spaniard Ivan Garcia Garcia triumphed at the poker table and will now be playing for a $100,000 bwin Poker team membership.

Guest at the PokerIsland villa was Luca Toni, star player of FC Bayern Munich. The program included poker sessions on the sailing yacht and visits to the most exclusive clubs and beach parties. The highlight of the event: a visit to PokerIsland, where stars by the likes of the Pussycat Dolls or Lady Gaga have already been guests. “It was the best week of my life! This is how real poker superstars must feel”, said Ivan Garcia Garcia, who also scored a success at the poker table during his Magic Moment on PokerIsland.

More information on this event is available at www.magicmomentsofpoker.com.

Main prize: $100,000 bwin Poker team membership

One player will get to qualify for the Grand Final at each one of the Magic Moments of Poker events. There, the winner will walk away with a membership on the bwin Poker Team. This means all-inclusive packages (accommodation, participation fees, etc.) valued at $100,000 for the world’s most important international poker tournaments such as the WSOP and WPT.

The players also star in their very own Magic Moments of Poker show. The action at the televised poker tables is broadcast to millions of viewers tuning in around the world.

Next stop FC Bayern Munich

The next stop on the Magic Moments of Poker tour will take us to the recordbreaking champions FC Bayern Munich. Qualification via Freeroll tournaments is possible until 18.07.2009, at www.bwin.com/magicmomentsofpoker.

The bwin Magic Moments of Poker tour will be stopping off at some of the biggest football clubs and top sporting events in Europe: Real Madrid, AC Milan and FC Bayern Munich, EuroBasket 2009, a MotoGP racing weekend in Jerez or even an action-packed stay on PokerIsland. With the cameras rolling, the qualifiers will get to put their poker skills to the test.

Stay up to date with the Latest Poker News and Reviews

Stay up to date with all the latest World Series of Poker (WSOP) News at LTDPoker.com, Top Poker Room Reviews including Betfair Poker, Bwin Poker, PokerStars and our exclusive Online Poker Bonuses.

World Series of Poker WSOP Event 3 $1,500 Omaha Hi Low 8-or-better

It's been another year of records so far at the 2009 WSOP and only fitting that Event 3 $1,500 Omaha 8-or-Better, concluded with another history-making performance. Last year's defending champion, Thang Luu, eclipsed a record-breaking field of 918 entrants to capture his second World Seris of Poker bracelet! Not only is this Luu's second bracelet, it's his second in the same event in consectutive years.

Back in 2007, Luu took second place in this same event for $147,726. Last year, Luu topped that performance with a win in the same event for $243,342 in what was the largest Omaha tournament ever played. This year, Luu came out on top of a larger field than last year and earned himself $263,135. In total, Thang's earned over $650,000 for all three of those finishes!

Ming Reslock Eliminated in 3rd ($106,373)

In Round 27 the Blinds are 30000/60000, on a flop of [3h] [4h] [Kc], Reslock check calls Luu. The turn is the [6h] and Reslock check-raises all in she turns over [9c] [8s] [7c] [8h] with a gutsho straight draw. Luu shows [6h] [7d] [3s] [Tc] for two pair with a blank on the river. Ming Reslock earns $106,373 and a 3rd place finish

Thang Luu 2,300,000 and Ed Smith 1,800,000 are very closely stacked at the start of heads-up play.

Ed Smith Eliminated in 2nd ($162,110)

Ed Smith limps in from the button, he only has a little over one small bet left. Thang Luu tries to get Smith all in with a raise. Smith simply calls with only a few thousand chips behind.

The flop came down [Qd] [5s] [4h] and Luu bets to force Smith all in and he makes the call. Luu is holding [Qc] [9d] [8c] [7d] against Smith's [Jc] [9h] [9c] [3h]. The turn is the [5h] and the river the [Td] and that is the end of this historic event. Ed Smith is this year's runner up and earns $162,110.

Thang Luu wins back-to-back Bracklets in the same event

Winning 2 consectutive events in the WSOP equalled Johnny Chan performance back in the 1980s. Luu was the chip leader at the end of Day 1. He was never really the big stack at the final table, but commanded the action and picked his spots wisely. When play got down to three handed, Luu simply took over and began crushing the competition. From there, it was smooth sailing. Congratulations to Thang Luu for his win and amazing back-to-back performances.

We have the seating for the final table.

Seat 1 - Ming Reslock
Seat 2 - Jordan Rich
Seat 3 - Pascal Leyo
Seat 4 - Robert Price
Seat 5 - Freddy Deeb
Seat 6 - Senovio Ramirez
Seat 7 - Thang Luu
Seat 8 - Ed Smith
Seat 9 - Jim Geary

For a third straight year, Thang Luu has made the final table of this event.

WSOP 2009 Event 3 $1,500 Omaha Hi Lo 8-or-better Results

Stay up to date with all the latest World Series of Poker (WSOP) News at LTDPoker.com, Top Poker Room Reviews including Betfair Poker, Bwin Poker, PokerStars and our exclusive Online Poker Bonuses.